WO2008041875A1

WO2008041875A1 - System for queuing remotely

Info

Publication number: WO2008041875A1
Application number: PCT/PH2007/000015
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eric Tomacruz
Original assignee: Eric Tomacruz
Priority date: 2006-10-02
Filing date: 2007-10-01
Publication date: 2008-04-10
Also published as: WO2008041875A9

Abstract

An automated remote queuing system through the use of mobile devices such that a significant decrease or elimination of on site wait time is possible for numerous applications such as ticket purchase, restaurant reservation, doctor's appointment, and government agency queues is presented. This invention includes a unique identifier for processing queuing request, and client support. Routines for estimating queue time are shown which improves as more clients are processed. The system is extended to provide clients with a pseudo appointment system through the use of the time estimating routines for service providers that are on a first come first serve basis. It incorporates a novel business model for providing the service.

Description

SCHEME FOR QUEUING REMOTELY

DESCRIPTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to a mobile device system and management. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a scheme for remotely queuing the user services such as ticket purchase, doctor's appointments, restaurant appointment, and other services through the use of mobile devices and a method of notifying the status of the queued request using a wireless message. A queue is defined as an ordered list of services to be performed. An appointment is a place in the ordered list identified by rank on list or by time. Queuing users may request for a specific time slot called an appointment time for the service to be performed if it is supported by the service provider. Thus the invention is also applicable for setting appointment remotely. The mobile device is defined as any electronic device or personal gadget carried by the user that sends and receives information through radio frequency signals. The present invention leads to decrease or elimination of on-site wait time even for queues with appointment times since service provider may not be following original schedule. The invention can be used also for the product of interest. Thus, the word service is interchangeable to product whenever it is applicable.

2. Description of the Prior Art

People spend a lot of time queuing in line for numerous products and services such as ticket purchase, restaurant reservation, doctor's appointment, and government papers. In business point of view, time is valuable and, hence, can be costly and profitable once properly channel to more useful efforts. Queuing traditionally requires people to wait patiently for their turn. It is a process that ensures business efficiency at the expense of people's time and convenience.

Given the cost impact of queuing directly in terms of time and resources, it is becoming a concerted effort for everyone on how the efforts of queued people in line can be channeled to more productive and profitable endeavors. Efforts to deal on how to manage the queue in line among them are following: • Physical queues are gathered in definite area, which is awkward and uncomfortable to the customers.

• The use of loudspeaker or intercom paging system to call out customer's name. In this case, the client must immediately respond when his/her name called or else, he/she may be queued to end of the line again.

• The use of "take a number" system has the same problem as the intercom system in terms of crowd management.

• On-premises paging systems: products such as one-way paging system, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,542,751 to Blink et al. (2003), require client to remain within certain local area network so that the device can be activated to notify them when the service is available. As for theme parks queue management systems, similar paging products are required, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,529,786 to Sim et al. (2003).

While the above-mentioned solutions and patents are a good start, none of them elect the possibility the client to queue himself/herself remotely. All addresses the need for the client to be there, at least in the beginning, to register or to start his/her queue.

With the advent of mobile devices, an invention is proposed on how the service provider can remotely queued the client for the service of his/her interest through the use of mobile devices. The invention provides a way on how the remote queuing feature will be added to the services provided by the mobile device service providers. This invention uses unique identifiers and a novel estimation algorithm for calculating queue time. Application of the invention can lead up to 95% decrease of on-site wait time as compared to the time spent by client on directly queuing for the same services. The invention can be applied also for remote queuing for the product of interest, thus, the word service in this invention also mean product.

Mobile device usage has been growing at an exceptional pace. People use mobile devices for a variety of reasons including safety, increased availability while away from a conventional wireline/landline telephone, entertainment, value added¹ features of the mobile devices such as bluetooth, camera and GPS, and value added services of the service provider. Among the value added services the service provider can provide is to queue the costumer for numerous services such as ticket purchase, restaurant reservation, doctor's appointment, and government papers and services through the use of mobile device, which is being explored in this patent.

SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses and overcomes the difficulty of having a person to remotely queue for a request/interest to receive the services in his absence through the use of mobile device. That is, the present invention provides a means for notifying a customer with a mobile device such as a cellular phone of the status of his/her request by providing a message such as a Short Message Service (SMS) message notification.

Fig. 1 shows the basic architecture of the said remote queuing.

The above notification generates revenues to the queuing service provider not only through the use of an SMS but also by MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), 3G (third generation technology) and other forms of mobile service provider payment system. The scheme may charge users upon the confirmation of their queue status. Additional revenues can be generated when users check their status or when users change their reservation details. The queuing service provider can also generate more revenues through support and through advertising. Moreover, the advertising can be directed to the service provider or to the end user.

Through the use of unique identifier system the service providers may include in their calling cards and address listings without the mobile users knowing the actual origin of the information such the service provider's personal mobile access numbers and email addresses are totally hidden. Some possible identifiers include

Access Code + Service Provider landiine + Extension

Access Code + ID + Extension or Mobile Number

The control of the unique identifier can be reassigned to different administrators in an office.

The request for queue can be done also not only through the use client's mobile device but also to the use of a call center as an initial booking front end. The client calls verbally to request for a reservation. The call center agent confirms the reservation by sending a message to the client's mobile device. This message charges the user for the reservation. After this message, the client request will be queued as to the original automated queuing system described earlier.

Moreover, the service provider uses the system to broadcast messages to their clients.

The system provides the same or another unique identifier for customer support so that the clients have the ability to send messages to the service provider through an SMS. This message is forwarded to the customer support person assigned to this unique identifier. The question and answer process happens without the service provider revealing any personal identifiers such as mobile phones and other related information.

The estimated queuing time for client r, given that there (r-1) initial clients ahead of him/her as:

where EPTr is the estimated processing time for client r, EST is the estimated start time for the service provider, CPT/ is the estimated client processing time for client /, j is the current client being processed, and CTr is the estimated cancellation time for client r. The value of EST is given by Scheduled Start Time + Average Start Delay, when no client has been processed Current Time, otherwise.

The client processing time for client /, CPT/, is affected by three factors, namely; (1) service provider allotted estimated processing time for service chosen, (2) a client time and cancellation history average for a specified period of time, and (3) the actual processing time of the service provider. The system empowers the service provider to give weights on each of the factors mentioned in determining the wait time of the client which is transmitted to the mobile device of the client. The ESTr is transmitted back to the client by the service provider as a hint of the client on when to check the status of his/her request.

The CPT/, as given above, is calculated from the formula: CPT/ = W₁ (Average History Processing Time) + W₂ (Client Processing Time History) + W₃ (Service Provider Estimated Processing Time) -

where W₁, W₂, W₃ are Service Provider defined weights. Given that W₁ + W₂ + W₃ = 1.

Service Provider Estimated Processing Time is a variable that is set depending on the client or service being requested. For example, first time clients may require more processing time. The clients rated in terms time attendance and cancellations.

The CTr is given as

CTr= Ave(CPT) * ENC

where Ave(CPT) is the average client processing time from client j to client r-1 and ENC is the estimated number of cancellations which is given by the number of cancellations with the highest probability, that is

ENC = / where Max(P(/)) >= P(r) for any value of r.

Thus, the key feature of the system is the improvement on its estimated queue time as the system learns more about a provider as it processed more and more of its clients.

For the case of a restaurant, queue can be divided to multiple queues depending upon the number of seats requested. The routines can then be applied to each queue to calculate estimated wait time.

The system allows the service provider to place clients on a waitlist if the queue for the day exceeded set office hours. Waitlisted clients are automatically added to the queue time estimates to show office hour vacancies. The provider adds them manually into the queue.

The system allows multiple people to use the same mobile device to make bookings. More than one person are allowed to book for a reservation slot. The mobile device books for different slots for the same or different providers for multiple people. If the history record of estimated processing time and the actual processing time matches quite well, the system is extended to allow clients to choose specific times to show up with the first come first serve service provider. The chosen time is within the service provider's office hours and the current reservation queue for the date and time requested has not been surpassed. Assume that the client r is requesting for a processing time of EPTr. The system will not place EPTr in the queue until the following condition is met.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide method and system to queue the client remotely to products and services through the use of mobile devices.

Another object of the present invention is to generate revenue through the use of any mobile service provider payment system by charging the clients upon confirmation of their queue status or when users change their reservation details. Moreover, more revenues are generated through support and through advertising.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a reply text notification message to the client of the estimated waiting time for him/her to check the status of his/her queued request using a short message service message.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and system to the service providers of ways to include their calling cards and address listings, as well as sponsors advertisement, to the text notification message without the client knowing origin of the said text notification message and related information of the service providers such as their personal mobile access numbers and email addresses.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide method and system that uses a call center as an initial booking front end and after this, the system reverts to the automated queuing system as described earlier. A further object of the present invention is to let the service providers to use the system to broadcast messages to their clients.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a scheme which enable clients to send messages to the service provider through an SMS for customer support.

Another object of the present invention to provide clients of the estimated queue time with the estimated queue improves in time as the system learns more about the provider actual processing as it processed more and more requests from its clients.

It is also an object of the present invention to place clients on a waitlist if the queue for the day has exceeded set office hours.

Still another object of the present invention is to allow multiple people to use the same mobile device to make bookings and more than one person may be allowed to book for a reservation slot.

It is yet another object of the present invention to choose specific times to show up with the first come first serve service provider.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the how the remote queuing is done from the client's mobile device to secure a doctor's appointment.

FIG. 2 shows how the client initiated the queuing process.

FIG. 3 shows user confirmation and checking of appointment status. These algorithms remind users about their appointment and also allow them to see changes on their appointment status.

Fig. 4 shows the advantage of the remote queuing over the conventional scheme of queuing. It shows how the doctor can optimize his time and his client/s time. Fig. 5 shows the sample details of the SMS booking feature to be executed on the mobile devices of both client and administration user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method and system to queue for services of interest remotely through the use mobile devices. Since a queuing feature is a new add-on feature that is not typically included in basic service plans offered by mobile device service providers, customers who desire queuing feature must pay extra for this service, and, thus this invention also provides a way to generate revenues through the use of an SMS, MMS, GPRS, 3G, or other mobile service provider payment system. The payment of the queuing feature of the mobile device is in periodic manner of every fix duration of time such in monthly basis or in used basis as the users charged upon the confirmation of their queue status. Moreover, additional revenues generates when users check their status or when users change their reservation details. The queuing service provider also generates more revenues through support and through advertising. Advertising is directed to the service provider or to the end user.

However, not all customers are willing to pay the full fee for queuing feature service. On the other hand, some of these same customers still desire a service that provides information regarding announcement when a product will be introduced in the market or a post of schedule of activities such as airline arrival/departure, restaurant opening and government schedule of activities, and thus, the cost of the queuing feature is partly or fully charged or transferred to the sponsor of the products or activities.

Fig. 1 shows how the remote queuing is done if the client would like to book a doctor's appointment. Using his mobile device he/she initiated the booking process as indicated by the arrow 101. His/her request receives by different networks starting from the wireless communication antenna, going to internet, until it arrives to the server. The server replies to whether the schedule requested by the client is available and arrow 102 shows how the information passes starting from the server going to wireless communication antenna until it arrives to the client. Assuming the schedule requested by the client is available then he/she needs to reply by confirming the said schedule and this relay of information is indicated by arrow 103 as the information starting from him/her passes to the wireless communication antenna passes to the server and reaching to the doctor's clinic where the secretary's computer is hooked up to the server. In case, the requested schedule of the client is not available then server gives an alternative schedule and the client has an option to confirm the new schedule or simply decline his/her booking. It is also possible; that the information sends by the server to the client is his/her queued number and the estimated time when the doctor will entertain him/her. Also the client needs to confirm whether the said schedule is amenable to him/her or not. We note here that the internet connection pertains to any means of connecting through internet, thus, connection through WAP (wireless application protocol) is one of them.

The above embodiment of the invention can be used also for buying and booking ticket. In this case the doctor's clinic is replaced by the ticket counter. Moreover, it follows that this invention can be applied on different applications. The above example just illustrates the possible application of the invention and should not limit its actual used where a person skilled in the art can easily find appropriate application.

In another embodiment of the invention, the client uses a call center to do the booking. In this case, the call center may connect to the telecommunication antenna either wired or wireless. Still another form of the embodiment of this invention is the request of the client reaching to doctor's office through the mobile device, i.e., of the secretary or of the doctor. In the fourth embodiment of the invention is the use of the call center of the client and the use of the mobile device to reach the client's request to the doctor's clinic. The above embodiment can be applied also for making an appointment with different professionals such as dentist, vetenerarian, chiropractor, psychiatrist and psychologist.

Another embodiment of this patent is the software that makes queuing remotely possible which consists of the client software and the administration software. The client software is installed in the client mobile device or in the call center network if client do not have a mobile device and the queuing is done through a connected line like such telephone. The administration software controls the needed connectivity and manages the entire network and other activities initiated by the server. Fig. 2 shows how the client initiated the booking process by indicating his/her interested schedule in terms of date and time. To indicate his/her gender is an option feature. Once the user sends the said information, the system identifies the client's mobile device number if it is already registered or already exists in the system's database. If it is already registered then the system queues the client's scheduled service interest and at the same time sends an SMS message whether client's personal information tallies with the system's database. If the client personal information do not tally, then the system asks the client if he would like to update it or not. If the requested schedule is available the system sends an SMS message that the schedule is confirmed and the corresponding fee will be deducted. If the requested schedule is not available then the system will queue the client's request and gives an SMS message on estimated waiting. Once the schedule is queued the system charges optionally the client every time he/she accesses the system either for purpose of checking the status of his/her interest or for the purpose of revising the schedule. We should note that the word client may imply a single client or a group of clients forming the queue.

One definite advantage of this queuing system, a day before the actual appointment the server may sends an SMS message to the clients (with confirmed booking) of an advise of their appointment tomorrow and the estimated time of their appointment. Moreover, the server might advise clients to reconfirm their request by replying YES to the SMS message. This is being summarized in flow chart 301 of Fig.3. The flow chart 302 shows the exchange of information between the client and the server in case the client would like to from time to time the status of his/her queue.

Another advantage of this queuing system is the professional who will conduct the advise, i.e, a doctor, can advised the server that he/she will be late or cannot come because an emergency matter arises. In this case, he/she notifies the server that his/her clinic will start at specified time and an optional message telling why he/she will be late may be included. Immediately, the server will notify the confirmed clients of their adjusted time of schedule accordingly. This is being summarized by Flow chart 401. The flow chart 402 describes the system procedures of sending SMS message to the confirmed clients in queue. Telling them the estimated time they need to wait more. Moreover, the system asks the next client in queue if he/she will be available immediately because his/her queue is soon to come. If not, his/her queue will be swapped to the client next to him/her. This procedure is repeated until the last client was entertained. Flow chart 403 shows that in the end of the day, the system send SMS message to the doctor on the list of expected clients for the following day including their expected time of appointment. The doctor confirms to the system all or those clients that have no conflict with his/her appointment or schedule. If there is conflict, then doctor tells the system on what time he/she will be available for consultation. In either case, the system will inform each of the confirmed client, accordingly as per doctor availability, including the expected time of his/her appointment.

The above activities of the client software and administration software and the remote queuing for doctor's appointment are just illustrative example to discuss the embodiment of the patent and not a limitation where an expert on the art can find other descriptions how to carry-on the activities of the client software and the administration as well as to find other application of this patent.

Fig. 5 shows the sample details of the booking feature to be executed on the mobile devices of both client and administration user. To improve interface for the administration, a wap or Java client is installed in his/her mobile device. These interfaces are menu driven and constantly pull queue information from the server. A wap or Java client interface decreases the telco connectivity cost compared to an SMS interface.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. The scheme of queuing remotely over a network of interconnected devices comprising, at least, of a client connection means (11), a wireless cq.mra.urfit^'af.iori antenna (12), an internet (13), a server (14), and a connection means of the oite providing the professional service (15),

wherein the client connection means is operable to communicate with the network and to accept booking instructions from a client of the network; and

the server is operable to communicate with the network and to present booking requests to the service provider of the network.

2. The scheme of queuing remotely of Claim 1 wherein the client connection (11) is a mobile device.

3. The scheme of queuing remotely of Claim 1 wherein the client connects (11) through the call center.

4. The scheme of queuing remotely of any of Claim 1 , Claim 2, or Claim 3 wherein the connection means of the one providing the professional service (15) is a mobile device.

5. The scheme of queuing remotely of any of Claim 1 , Claim 2, or Claim 3 wherein the connection means of the one providing the professional service (15) is a computer terminal.

6. The scheme of queuing remotely that uses a software comprising, at least, of a client software and an administration software, wherein:

a client software operable to communicate with the network and to accept booking instructions from interconnected devices of the network, the said software is further operable to alert client queue status through his communication means; and

an administration software operable to communicate with the network and to present booking requests to the service provider of the network, where the software is further operable to update queue status from the service provider data that is entered in the form, such that the client software and the administration software share information to process the queue.

7. The scheme of queuing remotely of Claim 6 wherein the network of the interconnected devices are defined by the combination of the devices as described in any of Claim 1 , Claim 2, Claim 3, Claim 4 or Claim 5.

8. The scheme of queuing remotely of any of Claim 1 , Claim 2, Claim 3, Claim 4, Claim 5, Claim 6 or Claim 7 wherein the client or group clients is queued for a doctor's appointment.

9. The scheme of queuing remotely of any of Claim 1 , Claim 2, Claim 3, Claim 4, Claim 5, Claim 6 or Claim 7 wherein the client or group clients is queued for purchasing at least one ticket.

10. The scheme of queuing remotely of any of Claim 1 , Claim 2, Claim 3, Claim 4, Claim 5, Claim 6 or Claim 7 wherein the client or group clients is queued for restaurant reservation or for theme parks or for bank service/s or for government service/s, or other similar service/s.

11. The scheme of queuing remotely of any of Claim 1 , Claim 2, Claim 3, Claim 4, Claim 5, Claim 6 or Claim 7 wherein the client or group clients is queued for buying and getting information on a certain product/s or for other similar activities.

12. The scheme of queuing remotely of any of Claim 1 , Claim 2, Claim 3, Claim 4, Claim 5, Claim 6 or Claim 7 wherein the server associates a unique identifier for each device in the network wherein the identifier scheme is available in wired or wireless network as controlled by the administration software controls and the said identifier scheme is hidden to the client.

13. The scheme of queuing remotely of Claim 12 wherein the identifiers are phone number/s and email address/es of the service provider.

14. The scheme of queuing remotely of Claim 12 wherein the unique identifier is used for appointment scheduling.

15. The scheme of queuing remotely of Claim 12 wherein the unique identifier is used for group announcements.

16. The scheme of queuing remotely of Claim 12 wherein the unique identifier is used for receiving or responding to client inquiry.

17. The scheme of queuing remotely of any of Claim 1 , Claim 2, Claim 3, Claim 4, Claim 5, Claim 6 or Claim 7 wherein the server provides an estimated queue time to the client.

18. The scheme of queuing remotely for first come first serve service providers of any of Claim 1 , Claim 2, Claim 3, Claim 4, Claim 5, Claim 6 or Claim 7 wherein estimated queue time of Claim 18 is due, at least, to the following factors, namely:

to the estimated processing time of the service provider;

to the client's arrival time and cancellation history average for a specified period of time; and

to the service provider actual office hour history record,

wherein the server gives a weight on each of the factor in determining the estimated waiting time of the client or group of clients which is transmitted to his/her or their means connection.

19. The scheme of queuing remotely of Claim 18 wherein the estimated queue time is calculated from service provider estimated processing time for new provided service/s.

20. The scheme of queuing remotely of Claim 18 wherein the client is given an option to request a specific processing time.

21. A scheme of generating revenues for remotely queuing people as stated by the scheme presented by any of the proceeding claims (of Claim 1 or of Claim 2 or ... or of Claim 20), wherein the fees being derived from:

a fee for a confirmed queuing reservation;

a fee for checking the status of a reservation; and

a fee for changing a confirmed reservation, wherein the queuing people are charged the fee through his/her wireless device via SMS, MMS, GPRS, 3G and/or wireless data access.

22. A scheme of generating revenues for remotely queuing people of Claim 21 wherein the client 's fee or the group fee for group of clients is calculated based on the qualities of the service provider.

23. A scheme of generating revenues for remotely queuing people of Claim 21 wherein a registration fee in collected by the service provider that signs up for remote queuing service.

24. A scheme of generating revenues for remotely queuing people of Claim 21 wherein ads or sponsorships is shown to the service provider or client.

25. A scheme of generating revenues for remotely queuing people of Claim 21 wherein business collects contact number/s to build a customer list for future marketing activities.

26. A scheme comprising interconnected devices in a network according to any of the proceeding claims wherein the client of the group of the clients is placed his/her or their request automatically on a waitlist if the queue for the day has exceeded set office hours.